I’m a college student who’s been in a monthly arrangement with a 50-year-old man for about six months. Sorry for the long post.

I’m Meg, one of the female members. You’re so lucky to have met such a wonderful papa (male supporter).

I’m Tetsu, a male member. It can be hard to come right out and ask for a higher allowance, can’t it? If you have a specific use for the money in mind, I think it would be best to explain what it’s for and then ask for either an increase in your allowance or help covering the cost of an iPhone.

Mamiya from Universe Tokyo here. How many times a month do you currently meet under your monthly arrangement, including the adult relationship? Why not tell him you’d like to meet more often and ask if he could increase the allowance? Or you could honestly share your adorable concern about wanting to take better photos and ask whether he’d be willing to help cover the cost of upgrading your iPhone. That said, it’s generally difficult to negotiate a higher allowance. I completely understand that you trust and like your papa (a male supporter), but as a form of risk management, try finding a new papa in parallel as well. You need a safety net in papa-katsu (compensated dating in Japan), too. I think finding three new dinner-only (no intimacy) papas a month, paying ¥10,000 per date, would be a good idea.

I’m Maezawa from the President’s Office, and I’ll answer this as well. It’s extremely difficult to get your allowance increased later on. As mentioned in other questions, quite a few men may think, “Now that we’ve gotten closer, can I lower the allowance?” > You said, “Which do you prefer: 50,000, 100,000, 150,000, or 200,000 yen a month?” I get the feeling you may be talking about how often you meet. I’m guessing 100,000 yen means meeting twice a month, so perhaps you’re currently seeing him twice a month. With 200,000 yen, it sounds like you’d be meeting four times a month. As I mentioned above, it’s difficult to get the allowance increased. But if you’re talking about the number of meetings, the allowance per meeting would stay the same, so there may be a way to increase the total by meeting more often. If you say that you’d like to meet more frequently, he may understand what you mean and think, “Maybe she’s starting to have money problems?” That might lead to an increase in the allowance based on the number of meetings. If the number of meetings increases but the allowance doesn’t, I think it would be a good idea to explain why you need more money. > You don’t have any other papas, and he has asked you not to find another papa, so you don’t plan to look for one. Even so, if you try to get your allowance increased and it doesn’t go well, there’s a possibility he may cut you off. Men really do tend to dislike discussions about money that much. So if you can’t get the allowance increased, I think you should consider finding another papa. If he cuts you off, you’ll have no choice but to look for someone else anyway, so it’s important risk management to prepare for that possibility by having one more papa in your life.

I’m だて◎ゆめ, a male member. Hmm... If it’s only for things like a camera, it might be better to ask for it directly rather than increase the monthly allowance. From the man’s perspective, there’s probably a reasonable basis for the current monthly amount.

I’m Papahiko, a male member. Since you’re receiving ¥100,000 a month and don’t have any other papas, am I correct in understanding that you also go on trips together without having an adult relationship? And that you meet once or twice—or even three or more times—a month? Let me answer on the assumption that there’s no adult relationship. In that case, since he gives you ¥100,000 even for a dinner date once a month, you could feel free to say, “It’s been six months now—do you think you could increase it?” I think he’d probably offer ¥150,000 or ¥200,000. However, whatever you do, don’t be the one to mention ¥200,000. The moment he hears that, he might think, “Wait, is that her standard—or her minimum?” and it could change the way he sees you, even if he had thought you were cute up until then. Ideally, you shouldn’t mention ¥150,000 either; it would be better to have him bring it up himself. Also, I think it’s best to keep it around ¥150,000 to ¥200,000—preferably ¥150,000—and ask for a little extra on your birthday, special occasions, or when you need it. If he gives you ¥100,000 a month with no adult relationship, supporters like that are extremely rare, so I’m sure you appreciate how valuable he is. If he was the first person you met, that really is a miracle. I doubt you’ll find another papa who could replace him. If you continue showing him how happy and grateful you are without forgetting those feelings, I’m sure he’ll continue to cherish you. If there is also an adult relationship, though, I think you could either ask to switch to pay-per-meeting or directly mention amounts like ¥200,000, ¥250,000, or ¥300,000. But honestly, it might be quicker to look for another papa.

I’m Kazu, a male member. I think she probably has different expectations depending on the allowance amount. If you offer ¥150,000 or ¥200,000 per month, I imagine the papa (male supporter) will have corresponding requests. So there’s no problem at all. If you honestly tell her how much you’d like to receive per month, she’ll probably explain what she’d like in return. I say that because when I first joined Universe, I was planning to take the same approach. The reason I don’t do that now is that the women I’m seeing prefer discussing a pay-per-meeting allowance rather than a monthly arrangement. They apparently don’t want to decide in advance how many times they’ll meet each month because they have work and personal commitments. Also, at least personally, I’m not interested in what the allowance is used for. I imagine other men feel the same way. In short, I think you should simply say, “I’d like to upgrade to a newer iPhone and things like that, so would you be able to increase my allowance?” She was the one who initially asked, “Which would you prefer per month: ¥50,000, ¥100,000, ¥150,000, or ¥200,000?” So if you feel embarrassed, you could start by saying, “When we first met, you mentioned options like ¥150,000 or ¥200,000 per month, but…” P.S. I’m honored that you would say that about me, Mac.